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The Ministry of Labor on Thursday expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits to those facing unsafe workplaces, as well as unemployed parents who had to quit their jobs when schools and child care providers children closed and had no jobs when the children returned to class.
Specifically, the Department of Labor expanded the conditions under which workers could claim unemployment insurance benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA). The command extends eligibility to:
- Workers who have been denied unemployment benefits after refusing to work in unsafe conditions
- School staff and employees who have been affected by school closures due to a reduction in pay or who are not guaranteed to continue paying
- Any worker whose working hours have been reduced or who have lost their job as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic
“Today’s guidelines pave the way for relief for workers who have faced difficult, if not impossible, choices between accepting a job in an unsafe workplace to receive a stable source of income and protect their health and that of their relatives, ”Patricia Smith, senior adviser to the Secretary of Labor, said in a statement Thursday.
As well as allowing school staff and workers who do not feel safe to apply for unemployment benefits, the new focus also offers relief to those who have had to deal with child care centers and shutdowns. schools affecting their employment even after schools returned to in-person attendance.
“This is great news for a case that we have seen a lot: the parents [who] quit work when schools closed, jobs replaced them, then they were out of work, but the school reopened, ”Elizabeth Pancotti, Director of Employment America policy, tweeted Thursday. She noted that if parents were to quit their jobs as a direct result of Covid-19, even if schools reopened, they would be entitled to unemployment benefits.
Workers can now select more than one reason for their unemployment in order to remain eligible for benefits even if one of the reasons disappears.
The new guidelines correct this ‘glaring problem’ for parents who had to leave work because their child’s school closed due to Covid-19 and who had no work to return to when things reopened, said Andrew Stettner, Century Foundation senior researcher and leading unemployment insurance expert.
The latest eligibility extension is part of the PUA program, which was put in place as part of the CARES law relief package that Congress passed about a year ago. The program specifically covers business owners, self-employed Americans, on-demand workers, and independent contractors who are out of work or have significantly reduced their hours due to the coronavirus pandemic. The PUA program is 100% funded by the federal government, but administered by each state.
Thursday’s eligibility changes are retroactive, so workers who have been denied unemployment can re-apply for a PUA and get benefits dating back to the start of their unemployment spell.
The Department of Labor is also demanding that states provide workers the option to select more than one reason for their unemployment on the basis of Covid-19. This way, they can remain eligible for benefits even if one of the reasons disappears.
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